


wham!

by jeanheir



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Gen, I SWEAR that Ten is more than 3 feet tall, Mentions of Star Wars but not really, Mentions of War, Platonic Relationships, attempts at comedy, minuscule amounts of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24071635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeanheir/pseuds/jeanheir
Summary: Ten watches as the hesitance on the human's face gradually moulds into one of childlike bravery, making him feel a bit more relieved. It seems that the earthling isn’t a complete and utter idiot, so if push comes to shove and he has to start making threats, there’s a good chance that he’ll play along."... If you tell me what you are, where you've come from, I'll do my best."He quickly learns that befriending Yangyang, the human, may be more trouble than it's worth.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten & Liu Yang Yang
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23
Collections: Weishen Fest: ANYTHING BUT HUMAN





	wham!

**Author's Note:**

> #ABH001: yangyang is the energetic earthling that alien warrior ten finds himself in the care of after his ship crashes in his backyard. somehow, ten must find his way back to his home planet, but how can he do that when he's getting attached to this annoying teenager who can't stop asking him questions?
> 
> I derailed from the prompt a number of times, but it’s finally here! Big BIG thanks to Mik for betaing for me, I literally couldn’t have done it without you jsjs ily
> 
> To the prompter and everyone else, I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> (one last thing :> title taken from the iconic duo wham! as everything she wants got me in the groove to write)

Life is unpredictable, that much Ten has already come accustomed to. But this?

This is simply taking things way too far. 

From where he was hiding in some poor kid’s treehouse, he could see blue skies, white clouds and more than his fair share of school kids to last him a lifetime. They were loud, hyperactive and much more than Ten cared to deal with right now. His head throbbed painfully and he fell onto his back with a thud, an act as small as crouching too hard for his body to manage. 

It was simply humiliating, he’d never been so weak in his life. Now to answer the elephant in the room, the bane of his existence, the cause of his newfound uselessness was one meager fact that he had come to despise with a burning passion. 

He was stranded. And as to where he’d landed, well, Ten would like to know that too. 

His ship had crash-landed a few days ago, the result of poor engineering on Xiaojun’s side — he swore to kill the younger man if he ever made it back — thus leaving him miles from home on a planet that did and would continue to do nothing except fuel the migraines that had plagued his mind the second he dragged his poor body out of his damaged ship and on to some green material he could only describe as hair. 

Look, naming things appropriately was not on his to-do list right now; in fact they were as far from his goal as anything could possibly be. 

As Ten retells his unfortunate scenario to deaf ears, the treehouse’s wooden ladder creaks as a body drags itself up into the cramped entrance, the sound of video game lasers breaking the newfound silence the schoolkids had left behind in their haste to catch their bus. Instinctively, Ten shrinks himself deeper into the space he had hid himself into, doing his best to ignore the food crumbs he felt against his skin. The inner part of him was screaming in disgust but for the sake of his cover, he’d endure it. 

The perpetrator of whatever mess he was laying in seemed to be playing some sort of game, fingers holding what looked like some sort of grey remote, bright lights illuminating the shadows that the treehouse’s makeshift windows covered. He stays stock still for a while, making sure the presence before him is completely focused on its device before diving out of the nearest gap, a shabby window, and out into the open. He’s lucky that it’s wide enough that he can fit through, though whoever constructed the treehouse isn’t going to get any extra points. Seriously, there couldn’t be a more obvious hazard.

The greenery doesn’t soften his fall at all and Ten almost curses out in pain, one wrong move away from exposing himself. It isn’t as quiet or graceful as he would’ve liked, but no one’s there to see his one-man show anyway.

Something, no someone, from inside the house calls out towards the treehouse, most likely for an afternoon meal, and a mop of brown hair whips out the square doorway, youthful face filled with excitement. Ten watches as a body climbs down from its perch, ducking when they look around with a look of confusion. It's only when he hears the loud click of the back door closing that he emerges from the behind the tree, dusting himself off and climbing over the fence with newly acquired difficulty. 

The sun is beginning to set now, and thus, his search for a way back home continues. If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was that he was never returning to this household again now that there was the slightest chance of him being noticed. Sure, he'd hidden himself fairly well and hadn't come into contact with anyone that could alert any authorities of his existence (he’s had more than enough of convincing other extraterrestrial beings where his roots lay), but staying in the same place for one week was more than unsafe. 

That being said, if he didn't find a way to disguise himself quick enough there'd be a lot more trouble coming his way. Luckily enough, his native clothes hadn't been destroyed in the crash, though he didn't think that the inhabitants of this planet would find his attire too appealing. The Omek Boar’s leather was far too eye-catching and the chances of drawing unnecessary attention would only be enhanced by it. 

Ten wasn’t too keen on the idea of searching through trash for a disguise, although it might be his only option soon enough. On top of the fact that the neighbourhood doesn’t appear too well-guarded, it seems pretty vacant as well. Maybe he’ll actually have a fair chance finding something useful in the many picket houses decorating the narrow roads. Burglary, you could even say. Petty crime is the least of his worries at the moment and besides, what’s the most harm stealing a pair of clothes could bring?

He props himself on the branch of the tallest tree he can find, searching the windows of the houses for the slightest crack. Even an inch worth of room would give Ten the space to push the glass up, giving him the opportunity to break into whichever poor soul’s house it belonged to.

Coincidentally, the only one within walking distance seems to be the one he just so happened to have come from. Once again, he makes sure the coast is clear before making his way back to the house. He only has the resident’s leniency to thank, their home undoubtedly paired with the worst security in the neighbourhood. There wasn’t a single security camera in sight, not that he’s complaining of course — this makes everything easier for himself. 

Grasping a water pipe, he hauls himself up with some difficulty, finally lifting his body up to the window ledge. Back on his home planet, he’d taken great pride in his ability to control his body strength. Here, with his world unbalanced, it didn’t give much of an impression. Before this whole mess had started, Ten had been a part of a large clan of warriors, the group famous for their consistent victories against attacking planets. Jota, his home, has been plagued with war ever since he’d started school which left him growing up with his ambition to join the fighter’s once he grew older. The trial period had been tough, but the lands he would move on to protect in the future were more than enough to make up for it. He wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the planet’s atmosphere, but ever since Ten had landed it felt as if he was getting more and more sluggish.

Sliding his fingers underneath the gap, he forces the window upwards, unprepared for the scream of horror that follows quickly after, hardly missing a beat. If it weren't for the fact that he was already hallway through the window, he would've fallen right on to the grass below from surprise.

The room looks like it belongs to a child, baby blue walls with smiling clouds and messy drawings pinned here and there. Foolishly, he hadn't checked to see if there was anyone present, leaving him with a wide-eyed human three seconds away from blowing his already-tarnished cover. 

He needs to think of a way to take control of the situation before anything worse happens, but before he can, his racing thoughts are interrupted by a voice full of unfiltered curiosity. The language he speaks is garbled, much lighter than Ten's own, but he could've sworn that he’s heard it somewhere in the past. The words are shorter than what he's used to as well, and in the silence left behind by an unanswered question, it finally clicks. 

When he had met one of his friends for the first time, Jaehyun he thinks it was, the younger man had also used the same language, mistakenly thinking that he was from the same country, or whatever they called it here. 

The only thing he knows is a greeting of sorts, but it’s the only way Ten can think of introducing himself as anything but a threat. At least not now anyway. He tries it out anyway, the word awkward and uncomfortable on his tongue, but it draws an awe-like expression from the earthling. 

The human takes a small step forward, similar to the way that one would console a wild animal. Ten can almost hear the gears whirring in it’s head, watching closely as the human turns around to shuffle through what looks like a drawer. 

It's strangely quiet, and in contrast to the fear Ten had previously thought would take over the human's demeanour, the attitude was one of poorly concealed fascination. 

A click from the drawer summons his attention, and he widens his eyes at the circular device being propped towards him. It's a translator, specifically one that worked only in the use of the Jotan, Ten's people. Without thinking, he reaches forward to take it, the feel of Nium metal smooth against his skin. A small sense of calmness washes over him at the touch, the device’s weight heavy against his hand.

He frowns. Ten could’ve sworn that Xiaojun had run out of them just days before his departure. He presses his right thumb against the screen, fighting the urge to curse at how long it was taking to turn on. There was a chance that it was broken due to the crash, but he sincerely hopes that it isn't the case, especially not now. 

The translator finally turns on with a single vibration and Ten sighs in relief, programming the device to verify his location. Earth. He’s not too familiar with it as no one has documented its data yet, but from what little information he can recall it’s not too dangerous. He clips it on to his collar, the human speechless. Ten is sure that he has a bucket load of questions, the amount of self-restraint in him to not resume screaming admirable, but that's not important right now.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but I'm in a tough situation right now. I know that I broke into your room and all, but could you give me a hand?" 

Ten watches as the hesitance on the human's face moulds into one of childlike bravery, making him feel a little more relieved. It seems that the earthling isn’t a complete and utter idiot, so if push turns into shoves and he has to start making threats, there’s a good chance that he’ll play along. 

"... If you tell me what you are, where you've come from, I'll do my best." 

He quickly learns that befriending Yangyang, the human, may be more trouble than it's worth. 

  
  


After their introduction, which wasn't nearly as brief as he would have liked, Ten finds himself locked in the human's room with grey jogging bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. They belonged to Yangyang's brother while he was still living with their mum, choosing to live abroad after he graduated university, whatever that was.

The class system in Jota was divided into three categories, warrior, medic and civilian, and while they were all quite self-explanatory, that didn't stop the storm of questions Yangyang sent his way. 

Once he’s finished changing, Ten folds his uniform into a bag Yangyang had given him, wincing at the way the leather creases once inside. The warrior attire is a sign of belonging, and without it he feels strangely bare. 

He walks over towards the room’s window, grey clouds travelling overhead without any signs of stopping, and clenches his fists. Even though there were no current battles raging on Jota, there was no saying how long this peace would last. For his allies and his home, he has to return as soon as possible, no matter what it takes. 

Ten busies himself with Yangyang's trinkets while he waits for him to return, the metallic space shuttles light in his wandering hands, mind never resting. 

The human returns with a mug of water, a happy cow painted messily on its sides. Yangyang passes it to him with a grin, flopping onto his bed with a loud thud. “I made that when I was in primary school, it’s amazing how my mum’s kept it such good condition.”

Ten hums in acknowledgement, holding the object gently in his hands. It’s on the fragile side and he doesn’t want to deal with the consequences of destroying it, especially with its questionable history. 

“So you’re a warrior right? What’s it like?” Yangyang asks, curiosity taking over his features. “I’m a biology student myself and while I love it, it can be super tiring – it must be nothing compared to what you must go through.”

Ten weighs the pros and cons of what sort of conversation this would eventually lead to, but he finally gives in when the human’s bright eyes show no sign of letting up. Yangyang would probably badger Ten on and on about it if he refused, his relentlessness seemingly unparalleled. It’s the most he can do for him anyway, with how much Yangyang is helping him. He hasn’t yet reported Ten to the authorities and a little backstory on him has a small chance of changing that. 

“I’m not really sure about biology, but it’s definitely not as easy as some people like to make it seem. My planet’s been at war with one of our neighbours for a while now, and although it’s been peaceful these last few months, there’s no telling how long it’ll take for them to resend their troops.” He grimaces, tone pained. “I’ve been training all my life to serve and protect Jota, and we’ve been trying our best to fight off their attacks for longer than I can count. To think that I may never be able to return...” 

He realises that he’s said too much too late, watching as Yangyang nods solemnly. Ten hadn’t meant to unload, showing more vulnerability is the last thing he wants, but ironically enough, the words had left his mouth before he’d had time to fully process them. 

At times when Ten felt his weakest, he’d dial Kun and rant away his problems, free of fear of being frowned upon. The current situation couldn’t be more different. 

“That was a bit much, I’m sorry, just ignore it,” Ten sighs. “Life as a warrior is greatly rewarding, and I take a lot of pride in my abilities, even if the price for victory can be bittersweet at times. I get to see the proud faces of my people every time I finish a battle, no matter the outcome, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

At this, the earthling scratches his head guiltily. “No, don’t be. I get that it’s a bit of a touchy subject considering everything that’s happened today. I’m sorry for asking.” Yangyang frowns, face cloudy. “It’s really cool to see how much you care for your home, seriously. A big reason that I decided to focus on biology was because of how much I love the animals and lifeforms that roam over Earth, they’re all so unique and endearing in their own way. I think we're pretty similar, you know? We both want to protect what makes our home  _ home _ . " He smiles, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Despite himself, Ten snorts at this. It elicits a more hopeful expression from Yangyang, taking his reaction as a subtle sign of forgiveness. The question was rather innocent anyway, Ten brushing his own answer off as him letting his sensitivity get the better of him. 

“There are a lot of creatures back home, although a majority are dangerous so our government has banned most people from interacting with them. I’m only lucky that I have a close friend who has connections so that I’ve been able to witness them face to face.”

The alien remembers the miniature ships he’d been inspecting before, pointing towards a silver UFO with interest, “What’s the point of having them so small if you can’t use them?” His eyebrows furrow, “They’re nothing compared to the real thing.”

Yangyang’s eyes widen incredulously, as if he’d been insulted. “Don’t talk about my collection like that! They’re super rare, the rarest of the whole set. It took me ages to find a seller who was even distributing the right model.”

Ten doesn’t understand the obsession, nor the reason why the human was so protective of something that could hardly prove any use to him out in the real world. 

“Imagine having an interest in something so out of reach that you can only rely on minuscule objects to satisfy your need for it,” Yangyang continues, emphasising his point with wild hand gestures.

“But it’s not out of reach, there’s literally one outside.”

“Yeah, but that’s only ‘cause you’re here.” 

”If you want one so bad why don’t you just make it? I’m sure that Earth has tons of materials that you could use.” 

“If Earth’s scientists had a way to make a fully-functional pod like yours, I swear that I’d be the first to know about it.” Despite how passionate he is about the topic, Yangyang even doesn’t appear to be mad, their conversation fuelling him even more. “How’s your ship anyway? The crash was pretty loud but I managed to convince my mum that it was some teens fooling around outside, you’re seriously lucky that your ship isn’t as big as the ones in Star Wars.”

“In what?”

“Star Wars. It’s this huge franchise about a boy who teams up with this amazing group of people, plus your token beast mascot, to save the princess from an evil galactic empire. Something like that, I haven’t actually seen it myself. The point is, the spacecrafts they have are huge! I’ll show you later.”

  
  


Later happens sooner than Ten anticipates, and before he knows it he’s sitting on a yellow beanbag propped up against the wall, staring at what Yangyang calls an ‘iPad’ that was playing the so called movie. The earthling watches him intensely, eagerly trying to decipher what he thinks about the film so far, even though it’s only been about five minutes since they passed the credits. To be absolutely honest, he wasn’t enjoying it. He’s already finding the main character annoying. Ten ignores the lingering eyes on him, internally insulting all the characters that get on his nerves. 

Halfway into the film, a middle-aged woman with short black hair enters the room. Ten instinctively pulls away from the screen, Yangyang muffling him with a blanket he’d been leaning on. They’re lucky that he shifted positions to lying down when he did, otherwise they’d be frantically searching for words to explain the current situation. He can only imagine how wrong it would go.

“Don’t stay up too late sweetheart, you need to rest now that you’re back home,” She says, eyes crinkling as she smiles at Yangyang warmly. “I heard you talking with your friends earlier, how are they all?”

Pausing the film with a quick tap of his finger, Yangyang replies with a grin. “They’re great Mum, we’re gonna try and organise a meet-up soon. Donghyuck won’t stop complaining about his Eunjung’s fiancé though, I think he’s about to go crazy.” 

She laughs at that, “Oh poor boy, he still hasn’t grown to like Minhyuk has he? It’s cute that he’s so protective of his sister but he’ll have a better time at family parties if he learns to get along with him.” After she finishes checking up on him she leaves the room wishing him a good night, closing the door with a click. 

  
  


They finally start brainstorming ways for Ten to return to Jota the next day. Apart from the two of them, the house is empty, Yangyang’s mother quickly leaving in the early morning to do some errands. 

They’ve moved downstairs to the kitchen, Yangyang downing a glass of apple juice while Ten inspects the remains of his pod. Now that he has the time to properly look at it, he’s going to make sure that he doesn’t miss any serious details out.

Although the exterior looks relatively undamaged, the inside is a completely different story. He winces at the control system’s condition, the circuits and wires burnt out, the compass cracked so deep that it’s easy to see the chips inside. Even if with the right tools, he’s not the best mechanic, especially not one with the skill needed to repair the disaster before him. Jota ships were usually well-manufactured, and while he had previously berated Xiaojun and his skills, the other man was more than capable enough to not make such crucial mistakes. Unless it was a set-up of sorts, which he strongly doubted.

The only thing he can do now is to try and salvage the smaller items he’d brought with him, which wasn’t much seeing as he hadn’t planned on leaving Jota in the first place. Once again, he curses his friends and his willingness to go along with their reckless ideas. Because Jota was in a state of calm and there weren’t a lot of things to do in his newly acquired spare time he had stupidly started up one of the ships docked outside of the harbor Kun worked at, ignorantly thinking that the only thing worth worrying about would be how long it takes for the nearest supervisor to scold them for using the spacecrafts irresponsibly. Because what harm could a joyride bring?

“Whoa, that looks pretty bad,” Yangyang comments as he walks over, stretching out a curious hand to touch the scratched up metal.

“Don’t!-” Ten yells too late. 

Jotan ships were layered in a type of coating that could burn the skin off of any creature foreign to Jota, minerals from their ally planets’ disintegrating at the slightest touch. It was a dangerous but necessary precaution to guarantee that their enemies wouldn’t even think of hijacking them. He can hardly believe his eyes when he sees Yangyang retract his palm, skin unscathed. 

As his dumb human companion cluelessly stares at him, Ten lifts his arm up to check his device with his expression pulled into a firm frown. “You don’t know how fatal these things can be, so don't even think of putting your hands anywhere else on this ship, you hear me? One wrong move and your skin will be smoking.” 

“... yeah, got it.” Yangyang says, putting his hands up in apology. “I’m a bit impulsive sometimes, I’ll be more careful.” His tone is a little off than usual, the light behind his eyes flickering like a candle’s flame slowly being blown out.

Ten sighs, “Look, I’m not mad at you, okay? But we can’t afford you getting injured, what would your mum say?”

“She’d probably hound me for not learning how to use the cooker properly – it wouldn’t be my first burn.” 

Ten closes his eyes, rubbing them to erase the incoming waves of exasperation rolling in. “Sure, fine, just don’t do anything more stupid than what just happened, we can’t risk it.” He finds himself feeling somewhat relieved when the two of them head back inside, the atmosphere returning back to the light one that usually follows the two of them around wherever they go.

The rest of the day continues on without much concern, and for a brief, minuscule second, Ten wonders what permanent life on Earth would be like. He hasn’t forgotten the pain that brought him here (although living the rest of his days without seeing their faces wouldn’t be too bad … ), but a guilty part of him can’t help but fantasise. The planet is relatively peaceful, and from what he knows, it’s still in its developing stages. The only warriors it holds are from its ‘action movies’, where the only consequence is losing a potential love interest. Ten’s not too keen on the tragedies that he’s seen around, especially the dystopian ones because they leave an uncomfortable taste lingering in his mouth, but all in all there isn’t much to complain about. 

Strangely enough, he hasn’t felt the familiar itch for battle in a long while. It should probably be a cause of worry but Ten can’t bring himself to complain, the loss of subtle tranquility fresh in his system now that he’s miles away from his home. Maybe he can consider this a holiday of sorts, he snorts to himself. 

On Jota, his mind had been a constant storm of restlessness, unable to relax himself with his anxious thoughts of the next battle, the next time he’d have to join his squadron against the unknown. The only thing he can do now is pray and hope that his friends find a way to bring him back sooner than later, but in the meantime there’s so much more of Earth that he can discover.

**Author's Note:**

> things are definitely canon but i couldn’t find the right place to put it in the fic:
> 
> xiaojun and kun devising ten’s ship malfunction so that he’ll finally stop being so hung up on work and that he’ll finally relax himself
> 
> yangyang finding ten’s translator scattered in his garden, immediately intrigued at the peculiar device no matter how dangerous is could be, so the most sane thing is to bring it inside an hide it in his bedroom right?
> 
> kids pls do not be like yangyang, that boy is a FOOL
> 
> p.s
> 
> comments and/or kudos are greatly appreciated <3 
> 
> you can find me [here!](https://mobile.twitter.com/jeanheir)  
> 


End file.
